The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-08-06
THE LATE DANIEL PRATT.
Something About the Wanderings OF tho
sGreat American Traveller"

Something About the Wnnderings OF tho
''Great American Traveller"
A figure familiar for more than half
a century on the streets Of the great
American cities. and on the cam pus Of
many a college; seen occasionally in
the backwoods of Maine. and at re-
mote Western military points, has dis
appeared with the death of Daniel
Pratt, the "Great American Traveller"
as he was fond of styling himself. He
died at the City Hospital, where he
was taken after sustaining a shock Of
paralysis, from which he failed to
rally. But little is known of the early
life of Daniel Pratt, further than he
was born in Prattville, a district of
Chelsea, about the year 1909. The
Pratt family came from good revolu-
tionary ancestry. All sorts of theo-
ries have been advanced as to the sup
posed cause OF the mental alteration
that made Daniel Pratt a wanderer on
the face Of the earth, and stories of
crushing grief, love disappointment
and sickness have been told from time
to time. The truth seems to be that in
the first place Daniel was too lazy to
work for a living, and when he first
left the banks of the Mystic, about
sixty years ago, he was perfectly sane,
but somewhat inclined to light-headed
flights Of fancy.
He was q carpenter, but one who did
little work of any kind. He disap.
peared, and was not again seer in this
vicinity for twelve years. when he re.
appeared, returning from a journey
which. ccrding to his story, compre-
hended the greater part of the settled
United States. By that time his insan.
ity manifested itself in the form which
it ever afterward maintained, a belief
that he had been elected President Of
the United States, and was kept out of
his Office by q combination of unscru-
pulous rivals. For fifty years he lived
on the charity Of those who found
amusement in the spectacle Of a dis.
torted mind. The Generator the
''great American traveller" was very
tenacious Of this military title. which
he took at = time when there were
more Generals than soldiers Mt every
military m~uster-claimed to have trav-
eled fully 200, 900 miles, to have been
in twenty-seven States and among six
teen tribes of Indians, and to have Sis-
tied Washington nineteen times, to
have seen five Presidents %inaugurated.
land got back alive" Certain it Is
that General Pratt had been a Wis.
itor to many Of the military posts in
Dakota, and had invaded New Bruins
wick.
His special favorites were college
students, whom he declared he had
found 1.-THE most liberal young men in
America" For many years. Daniel
has made tho tour of the New England
colleges once each year. and in every
city or town visited where a Newspaper
was published, he never failed 10 call
upon the editors and printers, often
with q huge manusc ript poem or essay
that he desired to sec In type. He
always managed to scrub along on
contributions CLEANED on his travels,
and appeared to enj oy reasonably good
health and spirits. One Of his idiosyn-
crasies was that the Boston Lancers
could at any time put down the war,
and the fact that this organization Of
parlor knights never went to the front
was his chief grievance in war times.
Where he slept no one ever knew, but
in the winter Of 1855 he was sent to
Rainsford Island at his own request,
and passed the cold months pleasantly
and happily. Boston Letter.
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